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The president of all things 'Star Wars' pissed off diehard fans when she said they were pivoting away from old characters and storylines -- but one of the OGs himself isn't trippin'!

We got Billy Dee Williams -- who famously played Lando Calrissian in the initial trilogy back in the '70s -- out in L.A. this week ... and we asked about all this hubbub in the 'Star Wars' universe after Lucasfilm honcho Kathleen Kennedy made some controversial remarks.

ICYMI ... Kennedy said they were packing up all the Skywalker stuff and moving it to the shed, as they look forward to new plots and heroes. She also said they were never going to cast new actors as original fan faves in the wake of 'Solo' ... a prequel/origin story of sorts.

That was taken as a shot at the actors who portrayed Harrison Ford's beloved character, as well as Billy Dee's ... but if you watch our interview with him here, you can tell the dude isn't stressing nearly as much as some of the fanboys are.

Far from it ... in fact, BDW seems to be siding with Kennedy about the notion of moving to bigger and better things -- wisely pointing out that nothing lasts forever, even in a galaxy far, far away.

Bo Hopkins -- famous from "American Graffiti" and other '70s cult classic films -- has died.

His wife, Sian, shared the sad news with THR Saturday ... saying BH had passed away a few weeks ago at a hospital in Van Nuys, CA after suffering a heart attack.

Hopkins had some legendary roles throughout his 7-decade career ... mostly carving out a rep as a supporting actor and a great on-screen villain/scoundrel, especially in 'AG' -- where he played Joe, the leader of the Pharaohs' greaser gang at the center of the flick.

'Graffiti' certainly helped put Hopkins on the map, but he'd already been making a name for himself in earlier films -- including a standout performance in "The Wild Bunch," where he played one of the zany outlaws looking to pull a big heist.

There were several other movies in which Hopkins left his mark -- including "Midnight Express," "The Getaway," "The Killer Elite," "The Nickel Ride," "The Only Way Home," "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing," "Posse," "A Small Town in Texas" "Tentacles" and "White Lightning" -- just to name a few.

He also had a lot of TV roles as well -- having appeared in hit shows such as "Doc Elliot," "Hawaii Five-O," 'Mod Squad,' "Bonanza," "Gunsmoke,"  "Manhunter," "Barnaby Jones," "The Rockford Files," "Charlie's Angels," "The Fall Guy," "Dynasty," "Murder, She Wrote," and others.

Hopkins kept working well into the 2000s -- sometimes even doing voice acting, but for the most part, stuck with gun-slinging characters -- and his last job was in 2020's "Hillbilly Elegy" opposite Glenn Close and Amy Adams.

All in all, he's got over 130 acting credits under his belt ... and is regarded as one of the great supporting actors of his time.

Bo was 80.

Ray Liotta was as polite and courteous as ever when he posed with a fan in the Dominican Republic just days before he passed away -- but more importantly ... he looked fine.

TMZ has obtained a photo of Ray on Sunday, May 22 -- a mere 4 days before he suddenly died in the island nation -- and this woman who was fortunate enough to snap a selfie of the two of them says he was as kind and receptive as could be.

Alba tells us she was strolling through BlueMall in Santo Domingo when she caught a glance of Ray walking alongside a couple of handlers as he was headed into a pharmacy.

While RL was inside, Alba walked up to his associates and asked if she could approach ... and they gave her the thumbs up. Alba says Ray embraced her, and was super gracious ... even praising her on how well she spoke English, given she was a DR native.

Alba would go on to pop the question -- asking for a selfie, not his hand in marriage -- and Ray didn't hesitate to say yes! Once Alba was satisfied with her photo, Ray said farewell.

As we reported, Ray died in his sleep Thursday, as he was accompanied by his fiancée in the Dominican Republic filming a movie called "Dangerous Waters." Sources close to the situation tell us Ray was in good spirits and happy to be working ... and that there were no signs of health issues leading up to his death. That's backed by this photo -- he looks fairly vibrant.

For Jay Ellis, flying commercial feels super boring after filming scenes in real fighter jets with Tom Cruise ... but he's already working on finding that cockpit thrill again.

When we got the "Top Gun: Maverick" star at LAX he made it clear he's laser-focused on getting his pilot license. Or, in 'Top Gun' speak ... Jay feels the need for speed!

He and the rest of the cast "pilots" trained for months in different aircraft, advancing to the F-18 Super Hornet and even getting launched from an aircraft carrier. Jay says it was Maverick -- aka Tom -- who cooked up the training program.

Tom is, famously, a licensed pilot himself, and Jay -- who plays "Payback" in the blockbuster -- wants to follow suit, and since he already has a head start on training ... he wants to go the distance.

It's safe to say Jay's hooked on flying -- you gotta see him light up telling us the experience of feeling all those G-forces while filming.

Jay's pretty confident he could fly our photog up the Cali coast, but it sounds like he needs more practice when it comes to getting back on the ground.

Amber Heard's participation in 'Aquaman 2' -- however minimal it may end up being -- had absolutely nothing to do with Johnny Depp ... so says the guy who heads up DC Films.

Walter Hamada -- WarnerMedia's head honcho for all things DC movies these days -- sat for a deposition that was played in court by Johnny's team Tuesday ... this as a rebuttal witness after AH's squad rested their case, and as closing arguments approach on Friday.

Check out his testimony ... he tells JD's attorney, Ben Chew, that whatever was going on in the outside world between Amber and Johnny these past few years had no bearing on Warner's decision to downplay her role as Mera -- nor did it affect how much they paid her.

As you know ... there's been much speculation and rumors that AH is seriously sidelined in the 'Aquqman' sequel, this after significant screen time in both the OG and 'Justice League.'

Amber's attorneys have trotted out witnesses who've suggested Amber lost not just a big part in the movie, but big money that should've come with it ... in the form of a renegotiation upon the success of its predecessor, which they say is SOP in the movie biz.

WH addressed that head-on -- saying that under his watch, Warner made clear they wanted to reign in all these pay raises -- which can be costly -- and hold people to option agreements in contracts they originally signed with them ... and AH got a taste of that, he says.

She made a mil for the first movie, and since WM exercised her option for the sequel without rejiggering the deal ... they only gave her $2 mil -- something Amber's attorneys have called a blatant sign her career's been damaged by this whole saga.

Laura Dern was just a 20-something in 'Jurassic Park' -- opposite a then-40-something Sam Neill -- and the Internet can't believe it ... although we aren't sure if that's a good thing. 🤔

The actress dropped this bomb in a new interview with the Sunday Times, claiming she was just 23 when she starred in the original 'JP' back in 1993 ... and the age difference with her costar at the time was noted by the man himself, in a joking manner.

Neill, who did the interview with Dern apparently, is quoted as blurting out how much older he is/was than LD, saying ... "I am 20 years older than Laura! Which at the time was a completely appropriate age difference for a leading man and lady!"

Dern concurs, explaining, "Well, it felt completely appropriate to fall in love with Sam Neill. And, it was only now, when we returned in a moment of cultural awareness about the patriarchy, that I was, like, ‘Wow! We’re not the same age?'"

People latched on to this for a couple reasons ... one, Dern's quote is being interpreted by some as sarcastic and sort of a commentary on the idea that a woman of Sam's age (at the time) couldn't or wouldn't be cast -- apparently touching on double standards in the biz.

Of course, Laura herself didn't say this exactly ... and that argument doesn't hold water next to the source material (the book) and considering Drs. Grant and Sattler are described as being in their 40s and late 20s, respectively. Her character was always meant to be younger.

More importantly, the 23-year-old remark comes as news to many that Dern was that young in the film. As many have noted, she looks significantly older -- at least in her mid-30s.

The new Chip and Dale movie finds an unlikely villain in adult Peter Pan -- an inside nod to the real-life tragedy of the actor who voiced him years ago ... which has pissed off fans.

BTW, spoilers are ahead ... so beware. Anyway, here's what's going on -- everyone's buzzing about the 'Rescue Rangers' flick on Disney+, which has been viewed by many as a spiritual sequel to 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' ... namely, in the fact that toons and humans unite.

There's tons of cameos -- most of which are very self-aware and "meta" -- but one, in particular, has gotten backlash ... the boy who never grows up turns out to be the big bad.

Pan describes why he turned evil to the main characters at one point, describing how the studio kicked him to the curb as he started to age and how he grew jaded. The disturbing thing -- to many, at least -- is that this plot accurately reflects Bobby Driscoll's own downfall.

If you're unfamiliar, BD was a child star working with Disney a lot back in the '40/'50s -- he even played Peter in the classic animated hit, and is said to have served as the inspiration behind Pan's look -- but eventually parted ways with the studio and died young after falling into drugs and homelessness. He was even buried in a pauper's grave, unidentified.

Rumor has it ... Bobby himself was allegedly canned by Disney as soon as he hit puberty and was no longer desirable. At least that's the urban legend ... something Disney themselves seem to be alluding to and/or poking fun at with adult Pan in this new movie.

Therein lies the controversy -- people think it's mad disrespectful to dip into Driscoll's story -- either intentionally or not -- for a few laughs and punchlines in this Mouse House movie.

While you could argue that this is Disney making fun of/criticizing their own alleged history when it comes to this dark lore ... others feel it's unwarranted territory to make a point, especially since Driscoll may have, in fact, spiraled as a result of how Disney treated him.

Aside from this seemingly cringeworthy reference, people are saying 'Rescue Rangers' is actually pretty damn good ... and a burst of nostalgia we haven't seen in a while.

Viola Davis says that even at her status in Hollywood, racism persists on a regular basis for her ... especially from one man who apparently referred to her as his hired help.

The actress -- who's already won an Oscar, among other accolades -- did an interview with Variety at the Cannes Film Festival about Women in Motion ... and she expressed the notion that despite her high level in the biz, there are certain barriers she can't seem to get over.

One of those barriers is getting certain scripts to be written with dark-skinned Black women as the lead -- like a mid-aged darker Black woman in her '50s going through a sexual awakening, she explains -- while suggesting Hollywood still very much digs into stereotypes and "fits" when it comes to an actor's appearance. She's alluding to colorism here, BTW.

But, the more shocking anecdote she tells in the same breath is about a longtime director she's known and been friends with accidentally calling her "Louise" ... his maid's name.

Now, Viola did clarify that this happened relatively early in her career -- when she was about 30, she says -- but still feels those types of "microaggressions" happen all the time.

Her larger point, of course, is Black actors simply aren't given that great of material to work with movie-wise to be able to church out Oscar-worthy performances like their white counterparts ... unless they're roles that play into stereotypes and/or formulaic stories.

Nancy Armstrong is changing the narrative about ADHD in a new documentary ... telling us the disorder can actually be a secret power.

The Executive Producer joined "TMZ Live" to talk about the new doc, titled "The Disruptors" and the upside for folks who have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which she says is heavily misunderstood.

She tells us she wanted to do this documentary because there is a disconnect between what the public thinks and what scientists know about ADHD from decades of research and endless studies.

On a more personal note ... she's a mother of 3 children with the diagnosis, so she understands how overwhelming and challenging it can be for families.

However, she makes it clear -- while ADHD has some challenges that need to be managed, it also has some pretty impressive strengths. She adds understanding how to balance both can actually be a huge asset.

For example -- on the flip side of things like distractibility, hyperactivity and impulsivity, there are some positives -- such as curiosity, energy and creativity.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which affects 10% of kids and a rising number of adults in the U.S. The doc follows the challenges of 5 families and sheds light on the beauty behind it all.

Ezra Miller gave cops a stern warning during their arrest in Hawaii, don't hurt their wrists ... and get their pronouns right or face hate crime charges.

More police body cam has surfaced from the March incident where Miller allegedly went after several bar patrons, getting busted for disorderly conduct and harassment.

The footage starts with Miller in handcuffs complaining of pain in their wrists, and telling cops they need to be careful, as Ezra's a musician and any damage to the nerves in their wrists could be catastrophic to their music career.

Then things get even more tense as Ezra's being transported to the police station, when one of the officers addresses Ezra as "sir" Ezra fires back, saying, "I'm not a sir. I'm transgender nonbinary."

The cop says he was only trying to be respectful, but Ezra continues, "If you fail to do that again, it is an act of intentional bigotry and it is a technical hate crime according to U.S. Federal law."

Once at the station ... Miller continues to complain about pain in their wrist, but is much calmer than during the drive over.

Daniel Craig was reportedly choice #1 to play Mister Fantastic in the new 'Dr. Strange' movie, this over the eventual chosen one in John Krasinski ... also, spoiler alert ahead.

The news comes from Deadline reporter Justin Kroll, who wrote ... "Fun fact, Krasinski wasn't the first choice, the actor originally set to play the role was all set to shoot but when there was an uptick in COVID cases, he backed out as he was living in London and didn't think the quick shoot wasn't worth risk of bringing back COVID to the fam."

He was responding to a story about Elizabeth Olsen saying she'd never met John Krasinski during an interview with Vanity Fair -- a la Keke Palmer's "I Don't Know This Man" moment.

Anyway, Kroll followed up to bat down conspiracy theorists who noted Craig had shot "Knives Out 2" around the same time, questioning why he'd be willing to film one and not the other.

To that Matt says, "For those asking about why he was able to shoot KNIVES, that was months of shooting and if he got COVID, he would be the only one infected. STRANGE was maybe a day of shooting and worry was he could head back home and not know he had it and give to daughter who was 2 at the time."

Of course, some are questioning the legitimacy of this theory -- especially amid other reports that have Craig pegged as another would-be Marvel hero other than Mister Fantastic -- and the reason is ... he looks nothing like Reed Richards, whereas Krasinski is a dead ringer.

Some are claiming, yes, Dan was, in fact, considered for the film -- but that he was going to play Balder the Brave -- Thor's half-brother -- which makes a lot more sense ... i.e. blonde.

For Kane Hodder, the actor in the Jason Vorhees mask in the 'Friday the 13th' movies, there's nothing unlucky about a Friday the 13th ... he says the day changed his life.

Kane, who has played the killer character in four of the franchise's 12 installments, tells TMZ ... the so-called bad luck day is actually a transformative occasion in his Hollywood career.

As Kane explains, 'Friday the 13th' took his career to the next level ... transforming him from a stunt man into a horror movie star who signs autographs for adoring fans.

Kane says he's had nothing but the best luck on Friday the 13th ... a feeling that's quite uncommon and he adds the worst thing that's ever happened to him on the 13th was when he was burned when a fire stunt went wrong, but it wasn't a Friday.

It's not just the movie role brightening Kane's Friday the 13th experience ... he says this Friday, which fell on May's 13th, saw him fatten his pockets ... thanks to a spike in his requests on Cameo.

Fred Ward, who starred in "Tremors" alongside Kevin Bacon has died at the age of 79.

A rep for Ward tells TMZ he died on May 8, while a cause of death is currently unclear, his rep says the actor's last wish was for any memorial tributes to be made to the Boston University's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center.

"Tremors" was certainly Ward's most recognized role, but he won a Golden Globe as a part of the cast of "The Right Stuff." Throughout his career, Ward also had roles in "True Detective," "Grey's Anatomy," "ER," "Miami Blues," "The Player" and "Short Cuts."

While "Tremors" premiered back in 1990 ... Ward continued his Hollywood career up until 2018, his rep says he spent the last few years of his life painting.

Ward leaves behind his wife of 27 years, Marie-France Ward and his son, Django.

RIP

'Percy Jackson' author Rick Riordan is slamming folks who are outraged that a Black actress is playing a character described in the books as white ... calling the backlash racist.

Leah Jeffries was recently cast for the role of Annabeth Chase in the upcoming Disney+ series "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" ... with some fans expressing outrage online because Leah doesn't look the way Rick originally described.

Rick fired back Tuesday in a lengthy blog post directed at those who have a problem with the casting choice ... saying it's a shame he even has to address the issue, because he says the overwhelming response has been positive.

RR says anyone who has an issue with Leah's casting should take it up with him ... and he says negative comments being directed at her online are out of line and need to stop ASAP.

In the movie adaptions of Rick's book, Annabeth is played by white actress Alexandra Daddario.

From the outset of casting for the Disney+ series, Rick says he made it clear he was looking for the best actors to bring to life the personalities of his OG book characters, and physical appearance was secondary.

After a yearlong process, Rick says Leah proved to embody Annabeth Chase ... and he says people are just being racist when they express disappointment, anger and frustration that Leah doesn't look the way they imagined Annabeth.

Rick says the focus on Leah's skin color overlooks her acting chops ... and he says people are judging her based on race without even seeing her play the part.

The famous hammer Chris Hemsworth wields as Thor is hitting the market ... and the auction hammer is expected to slam once the bidding gets into the six figures.

The movie prop, known as Stunt Mjolnir Hammer, is from the 2011 Marvel Studios film "Thor" ... and is expected to fetch at least $100,000 next month in one of the world’s largest live auctions of film and TV memorabilia.

Propstore is handling the auction ... and they're also seeking bids on super cool items from blockbusters like 'Star Wars,' 'Back To The Future,' 'Cast Away,' and 'Freddy vs. Jason.'

The auction is projected to rake in $9 million when the dust settles ... and the most expensive item is likely to be a screen-matched ILM 'Red Leader' X-Wing Starfighter model miniature from 'Star Wars: A New Hope' ... with the estimated bid between $500k and $1 million.

There's also a light-up, full-size DeLorean time machine replica used for official Universal Studios promotional events from the 'Back To The Future' trilogy ... and it's expected to fetch between $150k and $200k.

For the Tom Hanks crowd, there's a screen-matched distressed Wilson volleyball from "Cast Away" ... a carefully crafted item with an estimated winning bid of $80k to $120k.

For the horror fans, the auction includes Freddy Krueger's protruding bladed glove and sweater SFX rig from 2003's "Freddy vs. Jason" ... and it's expected to go for at least $15k.

Chris Kattan wants to go clubbing with Will Ferrell again ... he's champing at the bit to make a sequel to their 1990s cult classic comedy.

We got the former 'SNL' star at LAX and asked him about the buzz for another "A Night At The Roxbury" flick -- and his answer will have nostalgic fans bobbing their heads like Doug and Steve Butabi.

Chris says fans have been calling for a 'Roxbury' sequel for far too long, and he's got some ideas on how to bring the story into the 21st century.

Picture this ... Chris thinks the new movie should pick up with Will's character married to his love interest from the OG film, Molly Shannon. As for Chris' character, he's got an interesting idea for where Doug's been spending his time, and it's NOT a nightclub!

The club scene has changed a lot since Chris and Will were trying to get into the Roxbury ... and CK wants a sequel to feature the Butabi bros trying to fit in with today's younger club crowd.